Bayou Teche Museum

Your front door to the magnificent Bayou Teche region!

Step into the Bayou Teche Museum to explore one of the country’s most colorful, bountiful and historically significant areas. Fun for the whole family, interactive exhibits showcase the spicy blend of cultures, artists, industries and lore that sprang from the land surrounding the snake-like curves of this peaceful South Louisiana bayou.

The Bayou Teche Museum is located on Main Street in charming downtown New Iberia, recognized by Forbes Magazine as America’s Prettiest Town and immortalized as the home town of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux. Local cuisine, historic sites, shopping and hotels are all within walking distance. And be sure not to miss the beautiful Bayou Teche, just steps from the museum’s doors.

Exhibits

Civil War
Permanent Exhibit
When President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, he excluded from its jurisdiction (along with certain other places in the South) the parishes of St. Martin and St. Mary — parts of which would one day become Iberia Parish.
Visit to learn more about the Civil War in the Teche region.

George Rodrigue Studio
Permanent Exhibit
Artist George Rodrigue’s Carmel, California studio was recently dismantled by his family and moved across the country to the Bayou Teche Museum in his hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana. This special recreation is installed as he left it —including the painting he was working on and the paint-splattered floor.

Education
Permanent Exhibit
After the Civil War, the young people of Iberia Parish had access to an extensive public education system. The first parochial school opened in 1870. Learn about the range of public and private schools, segregated by race and gender, in our specialized display.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.